Benjamin Rahn, a 29, of Germany, joined the Coast 2 Coast Tour after completing a self-contained bicycle tour starting in Alaska. He explained, “I wanted to test my limits.”

Benjamin Rahn, a 29, of Germany, joined the Coast 2 Coast Tour after completing a self-contained bicycle tour starting in Alaska. He explained, “I wanted to test my limits.”

Photo: AMANDA CAIN

Image 2 of 3

Larry Varney (left), Jeff Arndt (center) and Lisa Arndt discuss the ups and downs of cycling coast to coast while other participants (back) listen in on the stories from the annual tour, which made its stop in Coldspring on April 10. less

Larry Varney (left), Jeff Arndt (center) and Lisa Arndt discuss the ups and downs of cycling coast to coast while other participants (back) listen in on the stories from the annual tour, which made its stop in ... more

Photo: AMANDA CAIN

Image 3 of 3

Coast 2 Coast bicycle tour wheels through the area

1 / 3

Back to Gallery

It may be the adventure of a lifetime worth crossing off a bucket list, but bicycling nearly 2800 miles in 52 days also requires mental and physical endurance. Some people may wonder why the group of cyclists who camped in Coldspring on Wednesday, April 10, consider themselves to be pampered on such an intense journey.

Bubba’s Pampered Pedalers are in the thick of their Coast 2 Coast Tour, which originated in San Diego, CA on March 9 and will end in St. Augustine, Fla. on April 29. The tour, which has been operating for four years, makes Coldspring an annual stop. Nearly everyone passing through town takes a trip to The Hop and even visits the library or Family Dollar as well as other establishments.

“It’s a nice little town - friendly people,” said Lisa Arndt, who makes her home in Wisconsin.

Arndt and her husband, Jeff, are taking the opportunity to spend the next two months riding as a fundraiser for organizations such as Custom Canines, which trains dogs as service dogs for children with autism. Averaging a ride of 65 miles per day and seven or eight hours of pedaling doesn’t seem to faze the Arndts or many of the other participants.

“It’s been very cool for this time of year [which is] very good for biking,” said Jeff as he joked that the tour operates rain or shine and tailwind or headwind - mostly headwind.

“Most people that don’t bike can’t fathom what we do. We did a climb for 11 miles,” said Jeff.

The general consensus among the group is that experience isn’t so bad. Bubba Bee, the founder of Bubba’s Pampered Pedalers, has everything taken care of for the journey.

“All you have to worry about is riding,” said Larry Varney, a cyclist who makes his home in Kentucky.

The Coast 2 Coast Tour provides catered meals, a bike mechanic and even has someone else do the laundry - not to mention tents are set up and taken down with personal belongings placed in the appropriate place each morning and night by workers on the tour.

“We spend 19 days in Texas. Biking through Sam Houston Forest is always one of my favorite parts of the ride,” said Bubba, who is well-known for being a jokester and having a big heart.

Benjamin Rahn, a 29-year old from Germany, is one recipient of Bubba’s generosity. Rahn completed a self-contained bicycle tour starting last October in Alaska through Canada down the Pacific Coast before deciding he wanted to see the desert in Phoenix and make his way to Missouri. Upon hearing Rahn’s story, Bubba invited him to join the Coast 2 Coast Tour and exchange work for food.

“I wanted to explore my limits,” said Rahn, who graduated from a university in Germany just one week before setting off on his self-contained tour.

Bubba plans to keep his group coming back to Coldspring each year until he is no longer able to organize the annual event. It may be a new group of cyclists next time but the journey will be just as invigorating.

“You get a better experience of the country” when you bicycle across country, added Lisa.